Articles made of fabric, whether high end fabrics such as silks or more routinely used terry cloth or jersey cotton, are often used or stored in a folded position. In particular, towels are often used and maintained by folding. Whether folded over a towel rack or gathered within a decorative ring, towels can be most useful when they are maintained in a place and manner that make them convenient to access. Such access often requires textile articles, towels in particular, to be stored or displayed in a public way so that individuals know exactly where they are. Such public display of textile articles has led to individuals using textiles not only for their function but also as decoration. More and more individuals take time to ensure that their textile articles are stored, displayed, or used in the way they are intended but also in a way that looks nice and enhances the decor of the area. A textile article, such as a towel, therefore, requires a certain amount of maintenance to keep the look that the owner would like for the area. For example, towels must be refolded after use or re-hung when accidentally allowed to slip from their holder. The goal of any owner, therefore, is to minimize the maintenance required in keeping textile articles in a desired position. This goal has led to two needs—(i) a device that holds a folded textile article in a desirable position and (ii) a way to decorate the device so that it improves the overall decor of the area in the same way as the textile article.
The prior art sets forth numerous devices for holding folded textile articles. The predominant group of such devices are basic jaw clips. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,022,126 (Davis, 1991), shows a one piece molded plastic clamp in a clam shell orientation. The sides of the clam shell have locking members that hold lower legs in a fixed position. Teeth on the lower legs engage the towel to hold it within the clam shell. The Davis '126 device, requires intricate manufacturing of the various regions of the device, particularly the locking members, and the device has a definite industrial look that would not accomplish any aesthetic goal for the device.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,536,924 (Willoughby, 1985) shows another one piece device with a flexible hinge portion connecting flat surface grips. The respective flat surfaces have interlocking male and female members at one end to maintain a grip on a folded article within the flat surfaces. The interlocking members connect in only one position, and the clip of the Willoughby '924 fits only those textile articles of a single width therein.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,023,721 (Erthein, 1977) discloses a clamping hanger having an arm and at least one pair of hinged clamping members integral with the arm. The user squeezes the arm and a lower member provides a bracing surface, allowing the arm to open one side of the hinged clamping members. Again, the clip disclosed in this patent fits only certain articles of a given width. The arm is also a highly stressed component that absorbs all of the force used to open the clip. The arm, therefore, is likely to break after repeated use.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,514,885 (Delahousse 1985) illustrates yet another clip of a clothespin design. Two articulated arms are connected by a spring member such that the arms open and close about a textile article.
Similar to the Delahousse patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,839,947 (Cohen 1989) shows a clamp formed of a unitary piece of resilient material and has a pair of opposed arms pivoted about an integral hinge member located between jaw and finger grip portions of the arms. The arms define a male and female locking member to hold the clip in place. As in certain other clips discussed above, the Delahousse clip requires precision molding to achieve properly sized and functional male and female locking members. The clip is normally disposed in an open position, which means that in the event of failure of the locking members, the clip is completely nonfunctional.
Other clipping arrangements used in the textile sector include hangers that have parallel clothespin type clips for hanging textile products. While these kinds of hangers are useful in a retail environment, the clips do little to enhance any aesthetic quality of their surroundings. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,350,092 (Hollis 1994) and U.S. Pat. No. 6,964,342 (Wenzier 2005).
Towels and clips for arranging them have been the subject of numerous patenting efforts over the years. For example, certain towel holders include weighted extensions that hang over a towel rack to hold the towels in place. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,465,458 (Schlager 1995) and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20080277359 (St. Martin 2008). U.S. Pat. No. 6,257,422 (Rios 2001) shows a v-shaped holder that can be mounted flush against a flat surface, such as a wall or a cabinet. The v-shaped member is biased to close onto itself, and an interior, upwardly extending leg, jutting outwardly from one leg of the “v,” presses into the back section of the v-shaped member from the inside. The v-shaped member can be forced to open, a textile or other article pushed into the open v-shaped member, and the clip will hold the textile article therein.
Although not focused on any aesthetic quality, other patents show towel clips for attaching to the person of an individual carrying a towel. U.S. Pat. No. 4,403,366 (Lucke 1983) shows a clip that slides onto a belt, pants, or any personal item capable of receiving one end of the clip. U.S. Pat. No. 4,901,406 (Shelby 1990) shows a standard clasp for attaching to a belt loop at one end and attaching a jaw clip mechanism to the other end. The jaw clip holds a personal towel for working out in a gym, playing golf, or engaging in any activity in which a towel is useful on one's person.
Towel holders of single piece construction have proven useful in certain rounded designs. The round design has an interesting and appealing shape but is apparently predominantly useful in wrapping a towel about a beach chair. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,611,123 (Prizzi 1997)(showing a towel holder consisting of a plastic tube split lengthwise into two halves that fit about a back bar of a beach chair); see also, United States Design Patent No. D363,016 (Sipprelle III).
Overall, the prior art shows a need for a new kind of clip that allows for variously sized textile articles, particularly towels, to be maintained in a defined folded position. The clip should also allow for creativity in enhancing the aesthetics of the area in which the towel is stored and used.